Maine Red Claws guard Tim Frazier, currently a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, has been selected as both the 2015 NBA Development League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the league’s 18 head coaches.

Frazier (6-1, 170, Penn State) played in 41 games for the Red Claws, 40 as a starter, averaging 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 9.5 assists, good for second-best in the NBA D-League. Frazier led the NBA D-League with four triple-doubles while also recording 14 double-doubles for Maine. He scored a career-high 34 against the Delaware 87ers on Jan. 3, and led the team in scoring nine times and assists 37 times.

“There’s no question about it, Tim had an MVP-caliber season in Maine this year,” said Malcolm Turner, NBA D-League President. “It takes a special young man to be as consistently dominant as he was this season, and to do it as a rookie is even more impressive. It’s fitting that our coaches recognized his hard work and his talent by selecting him as both the MVP and the Rookie of the Year. We look forward to watching his game continue to mature as his NBA career unfolds.”

Bakersfield Jam guard Joe Jackson has been named the 2015 NBA Development League’s Most Improved Player, as voted on by the league’s 18 head coaches. The award honors the player who demonstrated the most significant improvement over the course of the 2014-15 NBA D-League season.

Jackson (6-1, 171, Memphis) played in 38 games for the Jam this season, averaging a team-high 4.8 assists. He began his professional career averaging 6.0 points, 2.0 assists and 10.6 minutes over six games in December before starting in all 10 of the team’s games in March, when he averaged 17.7 points and 7.5 assists.

“Improving is what the NBA Development League is all about and that is just what Joe did this season in Bakersfield – he got better every day,” said Malcolm Turner, NBA D-League President. “He demonstrated an impressive commitment to his craft, seizing opportunities for development in Bakersfield, and we’re so pleased that his hard work paid off.”

Jackson averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 24.8 minutes this season, the best of the five rookies on the Jam’s roster. He scored in double figures in 26 of 38 games, including two 30-plus point outings. Additionally, he recorded five double-doubles.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Vander Blue for the remainder of the season.

Blue joins the Lakers from the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, where he finished second in the D-League in scoring at 23.3 points per game on 47.3% shooting (41.6% from beyond-the-arc), in addition to 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in 49 appearances (47 starts). The 22-year-old was selected as an NBADL All-Star this season, and held the distinction of being the only player to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 2014-15. 

The Denver Nuggets are planning to sign D-League L.A. guard Jamaal Franklin for the remainder of the season, league sources tell RealGM.

Franklin was drafted out of San Diego State by the Memphis Grizzlies. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves will sign Arinze Onuaku to a hardship-exception contract for the remainder of the season.

The Wolves need another big body to finish the season now that injured Gorgui Dieng stayed home from this West Coast trip and Nikola Pekovic is headed for surgery.

Onuaku averaged 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 41 D League games this season with the Canton Charge.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants forward CJ Fair has been named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, March 30 – Sunday, April 5.  

Fair led the Mad Ants to a 2-0 record last week as the team clinched the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed in the 2015 NBA D-League Playoffs.  For the week, Fair averaged 26.5 points on 62 percent shooting along with 12.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. 

He scored a season-high 28 points to go with 10 rebounds and three blocks in a 98-91 road win over Sioux Falls on April 3.  The next night, he posted a 25-point, 14-rebound game against the Skyforce at home. 

Sioux Falls Skyforce forward Scotty Hopson has been named D-League Player of the Month for the month of March. 

Hopson averaged 22.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists while helping lead the Skyforce to a 9-2 record in March. He shot 58.4% from the field during March, his best field goal shooting percentage in any month this season. During the month, Hopson led the team in scoring on five different occasions.

On the season, Hopson is averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 40 games (32 starts) for the Skyforce.

The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Jerel McNeal to a 10-day contract.

McNeal has averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 27 games with the Bakersfield Jam this season. The 6-3 guard scored a season-high 40 points on 16-of-23 shooting for the Suns’ NBA Development League affiliate on March 7 at Austin.